Bodrum

British travel company easyJet Holidays is aiming to bring about 1 million tourists to Turkey this summer, its CEO has said.

"easyJet offers 18 routes between the United Kingdom and Turkey. As the travel restrictions are lifted, we are hoping to fly to the country with 1 million seats. Turkey has been one of the best-selling destinations during the pandemic," said Garry Wilson.

A Turkish excavation team is carrying out works to unearth a temple of Zeus in the ancient city of Euromos, located at a short distance from the Turkish Riviera city of Bodrum.

With the withdrawal of waters in the southwestern province of Muğla's Bodrum district, the 3,500-year-old King Road has come to light. (DHA Photo)

Muğla, a Turkish summer resort region on the Mediterranean, remained a hotspot for British tourists despite the pandemic.

The region contains some of Turkey's best-known resorts such as Marmaris, Bodrum, Dalaman, Köyceğiz, and Datça, which British tourists prefer.

Turkey is set to welcome the new year under a four-day lockdown, spanning from tonight 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Jan. 4 as part of measures against COVID-19.

The authorities this month had re-introduced weekend lockdowns as well as nighttime curfews amid a spike in infections and deaths.

A restoration project has been implemented to unravel the Halicarnassus Walls, which were built by the Karian Satrap Mausolos 2,400 years ago in Bodrum, under the scope of which salvage excavation, cleaning and landscaping works have been ongoing.

2020 was undeniably the hardest one for culture and arts in Turkey, as it was all over the world, due to COVID-19 pandemic. The State Theaters (DT), State Opera and Ballet (DOB), the choirs affiliated with the Culture and Tourism Ministry, regional orchestras and movie theaters had to pull the plug on all their events in March when the virus was first seen in Turkey.

Turkish academics express excitement over the discovery of a warship, which is believed to have sunk in the 18th century and whose parts are widely scattered, off the coast from Foça in the Aegean province of İzmir.

The sunken warship is the latest in a long line of ships that have been found in the underwater excavations of the area.

The International Bodrum Jazz festival will be held between Sept. 1 and 9 with the support of the Jazz Association and Muğla Metropolitan Municipality.

September was chosen for the event because July and August were already high season in the Aegean province of Muğla's Bodrum district and organizers wanted to bring an activity at the end of the tourist season.

Nearly 2 million people have traveled between provinces after the government lifted a ban to restrict mobility as part of its efforts to take the spread of the coronavirus under control.